Dad was told he was ‘wasting doctor's time’ but his symptom was MND
Scott Stewart was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) at the age of 40, only after having his initial concerns and fears brushed aside by his GP surgery. The Clackmannanshire businessman first noticed a twitching leg symptom that gravely concerned the avid golfer so much he decided to call his doctors.
Instead of addressing his health woes, the surgery reportedly told Scott “he’d be wasting doctor’s time”. He shared: “It was dreadful. I called the surgery on August 22, 2022 and before I’d even spoken to a doctor I was told I’d be wasting their time if I was to be put through – but I knew something wasn’t right. Even with all the publicity around MND they still didn’t know.”
It was another 6 months before a neurologist diagnosed him with the progressive brain disorder and while the news was devastating, it was also a relief. Scott explained: “I’d been driving myself crazy until then. The uncertainty was the most brutal thing. It’s a horrendous thing to process, but at least at that point I could begin to.”
Scott was told to “enjoy life while he could” and the now 42-year-old took this to heart as he’s since tied the knot, welcomed his first child Rae and has travelled the world meeting his golf sporting heroes. However, much of his life still revolves around his heartbreaking experience as he’s advocating for medical professionals to be more educated on the early stages of MND, as well as raising awareness for research and treatment with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
He implored: “We’re in 2024, and the options available haven’t changed in more than 30 years. Until Doddie (Weir) there wasn’t enough focus on making inroads into doing something that makes a difference to treating the disease. I know any breakthrough probably won’t benefit me now, but I’ll still use my voice to do anything to push it forward. When you really think about it, there’s no way people should need to go through this now.”
Unfortunately, Scott’s condition is deteriorating as the former avid sportsman is now wheelchair-bound but still continues to work and support his new family as he highlighted: “Nobody opens a chequebook when you receive an MND diagnosis – you need money to get by, and so does your family.” The diagnosis also tragically took his previous job as a careers adviser but finds “purpose” in his advocacy work, which he chooses to focus on instead of what the disease has taken from him.
Scott emotionally added: “I’ve experienced some amazing things this year, but I know none of it would have happened if I wasn’t dying, and I’d swap it all for that not to be the case. There is no way in this day and age that people should need to face such a bleak outlook, and it’s up to everybody to get out there and help drive that change.”